Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Harvard University plans to hold its first class in a "virtual world" this fall, using a video-game-like environment called Second Life.

Charles Nesson, a renowned professor at Harvard Law School, is teaming up with his daughter, Rebecca Nesson, an instructor at Harvard Extension School, to offer a course on argument in cyberspace that is open to the public through the extension school.

Second Life, a virtual world in which many people assume the identities of animated characters and roam around socializing, building virtual houses, and trading virtual goods, has become a popular teaching tool among professors because it allows students to experiment with architectural design, to study monetary policy, and to do sociology research -- to name just a few educational uses -- in an enclosed, relatively risk-free environment. And professors at colleges other than Harvard have held a portion of their classes in Second Life....

Mr. Nesson introduces viewers to his Second Life character -- Eon, dean of cyberspace -- and his daughter's character, both of which look similar to their real-world selves. Ms. Nesson's character then shows viewers a virtual replica of Harvard's Ames Courtroom, where, she explains, the class will be held. The virtual courtroom is situated in a community called Berkman Island, a nod to Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, which Mr. Nesson helped found. Students will watch videos of real lectures held at the law school, and will engage in online discussions, Ms. Nesson says....

Ms. Nesson, who is a computer scientist, plans to hold office hours in Second Life, while Mr. Nesson says he will hold office hours in his real office. A more law-oriented version of the class will be offered to Harvard Law School students, but in a face-to-face format....

The course, called "CyberOne: Law in the Court of Public Opinion," is scheduled to begin the week of September 10. Mr. Nesson writes that he hopes the class will "demonstrate how Harvard can contribute to the structure and content of a new public discourse space.

I've heard a lot about Second Life and its various uses; Betsy McKenzie mentioned it here last month. Web-famous musician Jonathan Coulton (known for such podcasting hits as Baby Got Back, Code Monkey, Chiron Beta Prime, and Re: Your Brains) is doing a Second Life concert on September 14. There is also a thriving library community on Info Island.

On the other hand, nobody I've talked to personally is using it, and I've asked a lot of people, students and geeks alike. I've tried to learn my way around, but the learning curve is steep. Is anybody in the law library community using Second Life? Maybe we need a guest blogger to help orient us?